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Ayuwat Nature Photography

Nature photography by Ayuwat Jearwattanakanok

17/08/2026

Sunangels are fairly small hummingbirds with overall dark plumage. The Gorgeted Sunangel was the first species of the genus that I saw in Ecuador. As the name implies, the male of this species has a narrow white "gorget" across the upper breast. When seen from the right angles, the throat shines bright violet contrasting to the dark glossy green body. This species is almost endemic to the Western Andes of Ecuador with a tiny distribution in the adjacent south-western Colombia.

16/08/2026

Long-tailed Sylph was another common but extremely beautiful hummingbird that I saw in Ecuador. They were readily seen at several feeders that I visited in the Western Andes. The male's long tail feathers can grow up to 15 cm, more than twice the length of the actual body. While the female lacks those long tail feathers, she is also quite a striking bird with rufous belly contrasting to the white breast and an iridescent blue cap.

15/08/2026

Boots with the fur! White-booted Racket-tail was definitely one of the most adorable hummingbirds that I saw in Ecuador. They were much tinier than I expected. I just love the white fluffy trousers of the males. I also wonder how they keep them so clean. The females look entirely different with short tail and white underparts. They were quite common at several feeders that I visited along the western slope of the Andes.

15/08/2026

Mountain tanagers generally refer to large tanagers that occur in the cloud forest and higher elevations. The Blue-winged Mountain Tanager was the first "mountain tanager" that I saw in Ecuador. This species was relatively common and frequently visited fruit feeders. The race "cyanopterus" that occurs in western Ecuador has a broad yellow crown stripe with deep cobalt-blue edges on the wings.

14/08/2026

Blue-grey Tanager was one of the most abundant birds during my trip to Ecuador. It was instantly one of the first birds that I saw on my first day. It was still a lot fun trying to get some nice photos of this subtle beauty (comparing to the other crazy tanagers!). The race "quaesita" that widely occurs in northwestern Ecuador has turquoise wing coverts without any white markings.

14/08/2026

I was really excited to see the Swallow-tailed Kite for the first time. This beautiful bird of prey was pleasantly common throughout my trip to Ecuador. I was also surprised to learn that they are quite social birds. I frequently came across loose flocks of 5-15 birds soaring gracefully in circles. The subspecies "yetapa" is largely resident throughout South America, while the nominate migrates between North and South America.

13/08/2026

Cotingidae is another bird family with some ridiculously beautiful members including the famous Andean Cock-of-the-rock. I have seen documentaries about this iconic bird ever since I was young. It was another dream come true moment during my recent trip to Ecuador to finally see them in real life. We started our hike well before dawn to visit the lek where many males regularly come to display. As soon as there was a little bit of light, the first bird began calling then followed by more and more. The sounds became chaotic when a female briefly dropped by. However, it was still very dark and photography was extremely challenging. By just a little after 6:30 am, all the birds suddenly vanished and the forest grew immediately silent. It was such an extraordinary show from extraordinary birds. The race "sanguinolentus" of northwestern Ecuador has bright scarlet plumage unlike the more orange plumage of the eastern subspecies.

13/08/2026

Golden-naped Tanager was another common species during my trip to Ecuador. This small and colourful tanager was frequently seen in pairs while visiting feeders and fruiting trees. The subspecies "leucotis" of western Ecuador has bright turquoise plumage with golden-buffish patch on the hind crown.

12/08/2026

Golden Tanager is one of the brightest golden birds that I've ever seen. It was a pleasure to have this beautiful bird as one of the most common species during my trip to Ecuador. The colour combination reminded me slightly of the Asian Golden Weaver, especially the black stripes on the back. The subspecies "goodsoni" that occurs along the Western Andes slope of Ecuador has uniform golden plumage without any green or rufous wash.

12/08/2026

Tanagers were another group of birds that I was really excited to see while in Ecuador. Many of them have ridiculously colourful plumage including this Flame-faced Tanager. This species was fairly common at Bellavista Cloud Forest Lodge where I stayed for few nights. The subspecies "lunigera" that occurs along the Western Andes of Ecuador has bright yellowish face with a hint of orange wash unlike other subspecies that have darker and more crimson face. The scientific name "parzudakii" refers an Ottoman-French ornithologist Charles Parzudaki who was awarded for his outstanding taxidermic exhibits.